International Liberal Youth supports Catalonia’s self-determination process

 The General Assembly of the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY) approved a motion recognising the self-determination process in Catalonia. Last weekend, Krakow has welcomed this meeting attended by the youth sections of Liberal parties from all over the world. A hundred Liberal parties backed the motion presented by the JNC, the youth section of Catalan Liberal party ‘Convergència Democràctica de Catalunya’ (CDC). CDC is the main force within the two-party Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU) that is running the Catalan Government; the other force is the Christian Democrats (UCD). CiU is in favour of holding a self-determination referendum in Catalonia and was involved in the political agreement reached last December to present a specific question and date. 

The motion explicitly recognises Catalans’ right to decide on their own collective future, following the example of the United Kingdom and Scotland as well as the right to self-determination of nations, while respecting legal frameworks. The President of the Catalan Liberal Youth JNC, Marta Pascal, said she was “very pleased” to have fulfilled two objectives: on the one hand, “internationalising the Catalan process, with the support of a hundred of political youths around the world” and, on the other hand, “demonstrating the usefulness, more than ever, of voting Liberal.”

The motion explicitly demanded for Catalan citizens to be allowed express their will freely in a democratic referendum on the political future of Catalonia. It also urged the international community to acknowledge that voting in a referendum may be the best way to resolve political and territorial conflicts. Finally, it requested the Spanish Government to come to terms with a Catalan referendum on independence, following the example of Scotland and the United Kingdom.

A similar motion had already been approved last November by the European Liberal Youth (LYMEC) and had been signed, among others, by the German Young Liberals as HC reported previously